Parallel inter-radio access technology (irat) measurement in a communication system

ABSTRACT

A UE is configured to collect multiple absolute radio frequency channel numbers (ARFCNs) in parallel via a wideband receiver during a transmission gap. Inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements are performed based on the collected AFRCN samples.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to improving inter-radioaccess technology measurement in time division synchronous code divisionmultiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.

2. Background

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources. One example of such a network is theUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is theradio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phonetechnology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various airinterface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access(W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), andTime Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). Forexample, China is pursuing TD-SCDMA as the underlying air interface inthe UTRAN architecture with its existing GSM infrastructure as the corenetwork. The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communicationsprotocols, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which provideshigher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks.HSPA is a collection of two mobile telephony protocols, High SpeedDownlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access(HSUPA), that extends and improves the performance of existing widebandprotocols.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase,research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies notonly to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but toadvance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication during an inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurementincludes collecting multiple absolute radio frequency channel numbers(ARFCN) samples in parallel using a wideband receiver during atransmission gap. The method may also include performing IRATmeasurements based on the collected AFRCN samples.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus forwireless communication during an inter-radio access technology (IRAT)measurement includes means for collecting multiple absolute radiofrequency channel numbers (ARFCN) samples in parallel using a widebandreceiver during a transmission gap. The apparatus may also include meansfor performing IRAT measurements based on the collected AFRCN samples.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer programproduct for wireless communication during an inter-radio accesstechnology (IRAT) measurement includes a computer readable medium havingnon-transitory program code recorded thereon. The program code includesprogram code to collect multiple absolute radio frequency channelnumbers (ARFCN) samples in parallel using a wideband receiver during atransmission gap. The program code also includes program code to performIRAT measurements based on the collected AFRCN samples.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus forwireless communication during an inter-radio access technology (IRAT)measurement includes a memory and a processor(s) coupled to the memory.The processor(s) is configured to collect multiple absolute radiofrequency channel numbers (ARFCN) samples in parallel using a widebandreceiver during a transmission gap. The processor(s) is furtherconfigured to perform IRAT measurements based on the collected AFRCNsamples.

This has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantagesof the present disclosure in order that the detailed description thatfollows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages ofthe disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized asa basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out thesame purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized bythose skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic ofthe disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages, will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of atelecommunications system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of aframe structure in a telecommunications system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a nodeB in communication with a UE in a telecommunications system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a parallel IRAT measurementmethod according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementationfor an apparatus employing a processing system according to one aspectof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating an exampleof a telecommunications system 100. The various concepts presentedthroughout this disclosure may be implemented across a broad variety oftelecommunication systems, network architectures, and communicationstandards. By way of example and without limitation, the aspects of thepresent disclosure illustrated in FIG. 1 are presented with reference toa UMTS system employing a TD-SCDMA standard. In this example, the UMTSsystem includes a (radio access network) RAN 102 (e.g., UTRAN) thatprovides various wireless services including telephony, video, data,messaging, broadcasts, and/or other services. The RAN 102 may be dividedinto a number of Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs) such as an RNS 107,each controlled by a Radio Network Controller (RNC) such as an RNC 106.For clarity, only the RNC 106 and the RNS 107 are shown; however, theRAN 102 may include any number of RNCs and RNSs in addition to the RNC106 and RNS 107. The RNC 106 is an apparatus responsible for, amongother things, assigning, reconfiguring and releasing radio resourceswithin the RNS 107. The RNC 106 may be interconnected to other RNCs (notshown) in the RAN 102 through various types of interfaces such as adirect physical connection, a virtual network, or the like, using anysuitable transport network.

The geographic region covered by the RNS 107 may be divided into anumber of cells, with a radio transceiver apparatus serving each cell. Aradio transceiver apparatus is commonly referred to as a node B in UMTSapplications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art asa base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio basestation, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic serviceset (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), or someother suitable terminology. For clarity, two node Bs 108 are shown;however, the RNS 107 may include any number of wireless node Bs. Thenode Bs 108 provide wireless access points to a core network 104 for anynumber of mobile apparatuses. Examples of a mobile apparatus include acellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP)phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS)device, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player(e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, or any other similarfunctioning device. The mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as userequipment (UE) in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to bythose skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station,a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, amobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, aremote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), amobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, aterminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some othersuitable terminology. For illustrative purposes, three UEs 110 are shownin communication with the node Bs 108. The downlink (DL), also calledthe forward link, refers to the communication link from a node B to aUE, and the uplink (UL), also called the reverse link, refers to thecommunication link from a UE to a node B.

The core network 104, as shown, includes a GSM core network. However, asthose skilled in the art will recognize, the various concepts presentedthroughout this disclosure may be implemented in a RAN, or othersuitable access network, to provide UEs with access to types of corenetworks other than GSM networks.

In this example, the core network 104 supports circuit-switched serviceswith a mobile switching center (MSC) 112 and a gateway MSC (GMSC) 114.One or more RNCs, such as the RNC 106, may be connected to the MSC 112.The MSC 112 is an apparatus that controls call setup, call routing, andUE mobility functions. The MSC 112 also includes a visitor locationregister (VLR) (not shown) that contains subscriber-related informationfor the duration that a UE is in the coverage area of the MSC 112. TheGMSC 114 provides a gateway through the MSC 112 for the UE to access acircuit-switched network 116. The GMSC 114 includes a home locationregister (HLR) (not shown) containing subscriber data, such as the datareflecting the details of the services to which a particular user hassubscribed. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center(AuC) that contains subscriber-specific authentication data. When a callis received for a particular UE, the GMSC 114 queries the HLR todetermine the UE's location and forwards the call to the particular MSCserving that location.

The core network 104 also supports packet-data services with a servingGPRS support node (SGSN) 118 and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 120.GPRS, which stands for General Packet Radio Service, is designed toprovide packet-data services at speeds higher than those available withstandard GSM circuit-switched data services. The GGSN 120 provides aconnection for the RAN 102 to a packet-based network 122. Thepacket-based network 122 may be the Internet, a private data network, orsome other suitable packet-based network. The primary function of theGGSN 120 is to provide the UEs 110 with packet-based networkconnectivity. Data packets are transferred between the GGSN 120 and theUEs 110 through the SGSN 118, which performs primarily the samefunctions in the packet-based domain as the MSC 112 performs in thecircuit-switched domain.

The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence CodeDivision Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. The spread spectrum DS-CDMAspreads user data over a much wider bandwidth through multiplication bya sequence of pseudorandom bits called chips. The TD-SCDMA standard isbased on such direct sequence spread spectrum technology andadditionally calls for a time division duplexing (TDD), rather than afrequency division duplexing (FDD) as used in many FDD mode UMTS/W-CDMAsystems. TDD uses the same carrier frequency for both the uplink (UL)and downlink (DL) between a node B 108 and a UE 110, but divides uplinkand downlink transmissions into different time slots in the carrier.

FIG. 2 shows a frame structure 200 for a TD-SCDMA carrier. The TD-SCDMAcarrier, as illustrated, has a frame 202 that is 10 ms in length. Thebandwidth of each frequency channel in the TD-SCDMA system is 1.6 MHz.The chip rate in TD-SCDMA is 1.28 Mcps. The downlink and uplinktransmissions share the same bandwidth in different time slots (TSs). Ineach time slot, there are multiple code channels. The frame 202 has two5 ms subframes 204, and each of the subframes 204 includes seven timeslots, TS0 through TS6. The first time slot, TS0, is usually allocatedfor downlink communication, while the second time slot, TS1, is usuallyallocated for uplink communication. The remaining time slots, TS2through TS6, may be used for either uplink or downlink, which allows forgreater flexibility during times of higher data transmission times ineither the uplink or downlink directions. A downlink pilot time slot(DwPTS) 206, a guard period (GP) 208, and an uplink pilot time slot(UpPTS) 210 (also known as the uplink pilot channel (UpPCH)) are locatedbetween TS0 and TS 1. DwPTS is used to transmit DwPCH (Downlink PilotChannel). Each time slot, TS0-TS6, may allow data transmissionmultiplexed on a maximum of 16 code channels. Data transmission on acode channel includes two data portions 212 (each with a length of 352chips) separated by a midamble 214 (with a length of 144 chips) andfollowed by a guard period (GP) 216 (with a length of 16 chips). Themidamble 214 may be used for features, such as channel estimation, whilethe guard period 216 may be used to avoid inter-burst interference. Alsotransmitted in the data portion is some Layer 1 control information,including Synchronization Shift (SS) bits 218. Synchronization Shiftbits 218 only appear in the second part of the data portion. TheSynchronization Shift bits 218 immediately following the midamble canindicate three cases: decrease shift, increase shift, or do nothing inthe upload transmit timing. The positions of the SS bits 218 are notgenerally used during uplink communications.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a node B 310 in communication with a UE 350in a RAN 300, where the RAN 300 may be the RAN 102 in FIG. 1, the node B310 may be the node B 108 in FIG. 1, and the UE 350 may be the UE 110 inFIG. 1. In the downlink communication, a transmit processor 320 mayreceive data from a data source 312 and control signals from acontroller/processor 340. The transmit processor 320 provides varioussignal processing functions for the data and control signals, as well asreference signals (e.g., pilot signals). For example, the transmitprocessor 320 may provide cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes for errordetection, coding and interleaving to facilitate forward errorcorrection (FEC), mapping to signal constellations based on variousmodulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadraturephase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadratureamplitude modulation (M-QAM), and the like), spreading with orthogonalvariable spreading factors (OVSF), and multiplying with scrambling codesto produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates from a channelprocessor 344 may be used by a controller/processor 340 to determine thecoding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes for thetransmit processor 320. These channel estimates may be derived from areference signal transmitted by the UE 350 or from feedback contained inthe midamble 214 (FIG. 2) from the UE 350. The symbols generated by thetransmit processor 320 are provided to a transmit frame processor 330 tocreate a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 330 creates thisframe structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble 214 (FIG. 2)from the controller/processor 340, resulting in a series of frames. Theframes are then provided to a transmitter 332, which provides varioussignal conditioning functions including amplifying, filtering, andmodulating the frames onto a carrier for downlink transmission over thewireless medium through smart antennas 334. The smart antennas 334 maybe implemented with beam steering bidirectional adaptive antenna arraysor other similar beam technologies.

At the UE 350, a receiver 354 receives the downlink transmission throughan antenna 352 and processes the transmission to recover the informationmodulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver354 is provided to a receive frame processor 360, which parses eachframe, and provides the midamble 214 (FIG. 2) to a channel processor 394and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor 370.The receive processor 370 then performs the inverse of the processingperformed by the transmit processor 320 in the node B 310. Morespecifically, the receive processor 370 descrambles and despreads thesymbols, and then determines the most likely signal constellation pointstransmitted by the node B 310 based on the modulation scheme. These softdecisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channelprocessor 394. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved torecover the data, control, and reference signals. The CRC codes are thenchecked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. Thedata carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided toa data sink 372, which represents applications running in the UE 350and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carriedby successfully decoded frames will be provided to acontroller/processor 390. When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by thereceiver processor 370, the controller/processor 390 may also use anacknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol tosupport retransmission requests for those frames.

In the uplink, data from a data source 378 and control signals from thecontroller/processor 390 are provided to a transmit processor 380. Thedata source 378 may represent applications running in the UE 350 andvarious user interfaces (e.g., keyboard). Similar to the functionalitydescribed in connection with the downlink transmission by the node B310, the transmit processor 380 provides various signal processingfunctions including CRC codes, coding and interleaving to facilitateFEC, mapping to signal constellations, spreading with OVSFs, andscrambling to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates, derived bythe channel processor 394 from a reference signal transmitted by thenode B 310 or from feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by thenode B 310, may be used to select the appropriate coding, modulation,spreading, and/or scrambling schemes. The symbols produced by thetransmit processor 380 will be provided to a transmit frame processor382 to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor 382creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble214 (FIG. 2) from the controller/processor 390, resulting in a series offrames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter 356, whichprovides various signal conditioning functions including amplification,filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for uplinktransmission over the wireless medium through the antenna 352.

The uplink transmission is processed at the node B 310 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 350. A receiver 335 receives the uplink transmission through theantenna 334 and processes the transmission to recover the informationmodulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver335 is provided to a receive frame processor 336, which parses eachframe, and provides the midamble 214 (FIG. 2) to the channel processor344 and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor338. The receive processor 338 performs the inverse of the processingperformed by the transmit processor 380 in the UE 350. The data andcontrol signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then beprovided to a data sink 339 and the controller/processor, respectively.If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receiveprocessor, the controller/processor 340 may also use an acknowledgement(ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to supportretransmission requests for those frames.

The controller/processors 340 and 390 may be used to direct theoperation at the node B 310 and the UE 350, respectively. For example,the controller/processors 340 and 390 may provide various functionsincluding timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, powermanagement, and other control functions. The computer readable media ofmemories 342 and 392 may store data and software for the node B 310 andthe UE 350, respectively. For example, the memory 392 of the UE 350 maystore a parallel IRAT measurement module 391 which, when executed by thecontroller/processor 390, configures the UE 350 as indicated below. Ascheduler/processor 346 at the node B 310 may be used to allocateresources to the UEs and schedule downlink and/or uplink transmissionsfor the UEs.

Parallel Irat Measurement in TD-SCDMA

Some networks, such as a newly deployed network, may cover only aportion of a geographical area. Another network, such as an older moreestablished network, may better cover the area, including remainingportions of the geographical area. FIG. 4 illustrates coverage of anewly deployed network, such as a TD-SCDMA network and also coverage ofa more established network, such as a GSM network. A geographical area400 may include GSM cells 402 and TD-SCDMA cells 404. A user equipment(UE) 406 may move from one cell, such as a TD-SCDMA cell 404, to anothercell, such as a GSM cell 402. The movement of the UE 406 may specify ahandover or a cell reselection.

The handover or cell reselection may be performed when the UE moves froma coverage area of a TD-SCDMA cell to the coverage area of a GSM cell,or vice versa. A handover or cell reselection may also be performed whenthere is a coverage hole or lack of coverage in the TD-SCDMA network orwhen there is traffic balancing between the TD-SCDMA and GSM networks.As part of that handover or cell reselection process, while in aconnected mode with a first system (e.g., TD-SCDMA) a UE may bespecified to perform a measurement of a neighboring cell (such as GSMcell). For example, the UE may measure the neighbor cells of a secondnetwork for signal strength, frequency channel, and base stationidentity code (BSIC). The UE may then connect to the strongest cell ofthe second network. Such measurement may be referred to as inter radioaccess technology (IRAT) measurement.

The measurement of the neighboring cells may be implemented during atransmission gap corresponding to an idle time slot. During thetransmission gap, a UE may tune to a new frequency of a neighbor RAT,perform IRAT measurements and tune back to the frequency of the servingRAT. In WCDMA and LTE systems where the transmission gap is large, theUE can serially tune to multiple frequencies such as absolute radiofrequency channel numbers (ARFCNs) and measure the received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) for multiple ARFCNs within the sametransmission gap. Each channel in the GSM is identified by a specificabsolute radio frequency channel identified by an ARFCN.

The UE may send a serving cell a measurement report indicating resultsof the IRAT measurement performed by the UE. The serving cell may thentrigger a handover of the UE to a new cell in the other RAT based on themeasurement report. The triggering may be based on a comparison betweenmeasurements of the different RATs. The measurement may include aTD-SCDMA serving cell signal strength, such as a received signal codepower (RSCP) for a pilot channel (e.g., primary common control physicalchannel (P-CCPCH)). The serving cell signal strength is compared to aserving system threshold. The serving system threshold can be indicatedto the UE through dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling fromthe network. The measurement may also include a GSM neighbor cellreceived signal strength indicator (RSSI). The neighbor cell signalstrength can be compared to a neighbor system threshold value. Beforehandover or cell reselection, in addition to the measurement processes,the base station identity (e.g., BSICs) may be confirmed andre-confirmed.

A radio bearer can use one or more code channels for each time slot (TS)to send data. For example, a circuit-switched (CS) 12.2 kbps radiobearer can use two (2) code channels in one uplink time slot (TS) andtwo (2) code channels in one downlink time slot to transmit data. Forhigh data rate communications, multiple time slots are allocated. Theother time slots (e.g., the unallocated time slots) are referred to asidle time slots. During the idle time slots, the UE can tune to anothersystem/frequency to perform inter-radio access technology (IRAT)measurements, which may include, but are not limited to, received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) measurements, frequency correction channel(FCCH) tone detection for each AFRCN sample, synchronous channel BSICverification of each ARFCN sample, base station identity code (BSIC)confirm and BSIC reconfirm.

In TD-SCDMA, there is no compress mode and the idle time slots are usedto perform IRAT measurements, such as GSM IRAT measurements. Theunavailability of large transmission gaps or consecutive idle time slotsin TD-SCDMA systems makes it challenging to perform IRAT measurements,especially for multi time slot packet switched (PS) calls. For example,during a transmission gap, a UE may tune to a new frequency of aneighbor RAT, perform an IRAT measurement and tune back to the frequencyof the serving RAT. Due to the lack of consecutive idle time slots inTD-SCDMA systems, only a single IRAT measurement is performed during thetransmission gap. The unavailability of consecutive idle time slots inTD-SCDMA systems may cause a delay in IRAT measurements. This delay inIRAT measurement may result in dropped calls and/or degraded IRAThandover performance.

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to improving IRATmeasurements by performing parallel IRAT measurement of AFRCNs withinthe same transmission gap of the TD-SCDMA system. In particular, in oneaspect of the present disclosure, a wideband receiver (e.g., receiver354) performs IRAT measurement in a TD-SCDMA system by tuning tomultiple AFRCNs in parallel. During the single transmission gap, thewideband receiver 354 receives/collects multiple ARFCN samples (e.g.,GSM or multiple RAT samples) for parallel IRAT measurement within onefrequency band or across different frequency bands. The widebandreceiver may have an increased bandwidth based on the capability of theUE. In one aspect, the bandwidth of the wideband receiver is 100 KHz.Each channel in GSM identified by the specific AFRCN may have afrequency band of 20 KHz.

The IRAT measurement of neighbor cells (e.g., GSM neighbor cells) may bebased on a frequency difference between neighbor cells. For example, thewideband receiver can be used for parallel IRAT measurement when thedifference in frequency between two GSM cells is less than the bandwidth(i.e., 100 KHz, of the wideband receiver). In this aspect, the wide bandreceiver can perform IRAT measurements for three or four GSM cells inparallel within the single transmission gap. Thus, instead of onlyperforming a single IRAT measurement or no IRAT measurement within thesmall transmission gap, the UE can utilize the increased bandwidth ofthe wideband receiver to tune to multiple AFRCNs concurrently and thusperform IRAT measurements of the multiple AFRCNs in parallel.

For example, the UE can turn on/off the wideband receiver adaptivelybased on an IRAT GSM cell's ARFCN as indicated by the network. The UEcan choose multiple ARFCNs as a group and turn on the wideband receiveradaptively to perform parallel IRAT measurement using a singletransmission gap. Advantageously, this technique may eliminate or reducethe need to hop through all of the AFRCNs one at a time which may resultin delays in IRAT measurements due to the unavailability of large orconsecutive gaps.

FIG. 4 shows a wireless communication method 400 according to one aspectof the disclosure. A UE collects multiple ARFCN samples in parallelusing a wideband receiver during a transmission gap, as shown in block402. In block 404, the UE performs IRAT measurements based on thecollected AFRCN samples.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementationfor an apparatus 500 employing a parallel IRAT measurement system 514.The parallel IRAT measurement system 514 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 524. The bus 524 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the parallel IRAT measurement system 514 and theoverall design constraints. The bus 524 links together various circuitsincluding one or more processors and/or hardware modules, represented bythe processor 522, a collecting module 502, an IRAT measurement module504 and the computer-readable medium 526. The bus 524 may also linkvarious other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart, and therefore, will not be described any further.

The apparatus includes the parallel IRAT measurement system 514 coupledto a transceiver 530. The transceiver 530 is coupled to one or moreantennas 520. The transceiver 530 enables communicating with variousother apparatus over a transmission medium. The parallel IRATmeasurement system 514 includes a processor 522 coupled to acomputer-readable medium 526. The processor 522 is responsible forgeneral processing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable medium 526. The software, when executed by theprocessor 522, causes the parallel IRAT measurement system 514 toperform the various functions described for any particular apparatus.The computer-readable medium 526 may also be used for storing data thatis manipulated by the processor 522 when executing software.

The parallel IRAT measurement system 514 includes the collecting module502 for collecting multiple ARFCN samples in parallel using a widebandreceiver during a transmission gap. The parallel IRAT measurement system514 also includes the IRAT measurement module 504 for performing IRATmeasurements based on the collected AFRCN samples. The modules may besoftware modules running in the processor 522, resident/stored in thecomputer-readable medium 526, one or more hardware modules coupled tothe processor 522, or some combination thereof. The parallel IRATmeasurement system 514 may be a component of the UE and may include thememory 392, and/or the controller/processor 390.

In one configuration, an apparatus such as a UE is configured forwireless communication including means for collecting multiple ARFCNsamples in parallel using a wideband receiver during a transmission gap.In one aspect, the collecting means may be the receiver 354, transceiver530, receive frame processor 360, receive processor 370, channelprocessor 394, controller/processor 390, the memory 392, the parallelIRAT measurement module 391, collecting module 502 and/or the parallelIRAT measurement system 514 configured to perform the functions recitedby the aforementioned means. In another aspect, the aforementioned meansmay be a module or any apparatus configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

In one configuration, an apparatus such as a UE is configured forwireless communication including means for performing IRAT measurementsbased on the collected AFRCN samples. In one aspect, the IRATmeasurement performing means may be the channel processor 394,controller/processor 390, the memory 392, the parallel IRAT measurementmodule 391, IRAT measurement module 504 and/or the parallel IRATmeasurement system 514 configured to perform the functions recited bythe aforementioned means. In another aspect, the aforementioned meansmay be a module or any apparatus configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

Several aspects of a telecommunications system has been presented withreference to TD-SCDMA systems. As those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may beextended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures andcommunication standards. By way of example, various aspects may beextended to other UMTS systems such as W-CDMA, High Speed DownlinkPacket Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), HighSpeed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) and TD-CDMA. Various aspects may alsobe extended to systems employing Long Term Evolution (LTE) (in FDD, TDD,or both modes), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes),CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband(UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. Theactual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/orcommunication standard employed will depend on the specific applicationand the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

Several processors have been described in connection with variousapparatuses and methods. These processors may be implemented usingelectronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof.Whether such processors are implemented as hardware or software willdepend upon the particular application and overall design constraintsimposed on the system. By way of example, a processor, any portion of aprocessor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosuremay be implemented with a microprocessor, microcontroller, digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discretehardware circuits, and other suitable processing components configuredto perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure.The functionality of a processor, any portion of a processor, or anycombination of processors presented in this disclosure may beimplemented with software being executed by a microprocessor,microcontroller, DSP, or other suitable platform.

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instructionsets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, softwaremodules, applications, software applications, software packages,routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution,procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Thesoftware may reside on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readablemedium may include, by way of example, memory such as a magnetic storagedevice (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk(e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, aflash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM(EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removabledisk. Although memory is shown separate from the processors in thevarious aspects presented throughout this disclosure, the memory may beinternal to the processors (e.g., cache or register).

Computer-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program product.By way of example, a computer-program product may include acomputer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in theart will recognize how best to implement the described functionalitypresented throughout this disclosure depending on the particularapplication and the overall design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph,unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or,in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase“step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication during aninter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurement, comprising: collectingmultiple absolute radio frequency channel numbers (ARFCN) samples inparallel using a wideband receiver during a transmission gap; andperforming IRAT measurements based on the collected AFRCN samples. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising adaptively enabling thewideband receiver based on a frequency difference between the ARFCNs inat least one neighbor cell.
 3. The method of claim 2, in which the atleast one neighbor cell comprises a global system for mobile (GSM)communications cell.
 4. The method of claim 1, in which performing theIRAT measurements comprises measuring a received signal strengthindication (RSSI) of each ARFCN sample.
 5. The method of claim 1, inwhich performing the IRAT measurements comprises a frequency correctionchannel (FCCH) tone detection of each ARFCN sample.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, in which performing the IRAT measurements comprises synchronouschannel (SCH) base station identity code (BSIC) verification of eachARFCN sample.
 7. The method of claim 1, in which the wideband receivercollects multiple global system for mobile (GSM) ARFCN samples withinone frequency band or across different frequency bands.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, in which the wideband receiver extends to collect multiple RAT(radio access technology) samples within one frequency band or acrossdifferent frequency bands.
 9. An apparatus for wireless communicationduring an inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurement, comprising:means for collecting multiple absolute radio frequency channel numbers(ARFCN) samples in parallel using a wideband receiver during atransmission gap; and means for performing IRAT measurements based onthe collected AFRCN samples.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, furthercomprising means for adaptively enabling the wideband receiver based ona frequency difference between the ARFCNs in at least one neighbor cell.11. The apparatus of claim 10, in which the at least one neighbor cellcomprises a global system for mobile (GSM) communications cell.
 12. Anapparatus for wireless communication during an inter-radio accesstechnology (IRAT) measurement, comprising: a memory; and at least oneprocessor coupled to the memory and configured: to collect multipleabsolute radio frequency channel numbers (ARFCN) samples in parallelusing a wideband receiver during a transmission gap; and to perform IRATmeasurements based on the collected AFRCN samples.
 13. The apparatus ofclaim 12, in which the at least one processor is further configured toadaptively enable the wideband receiver based on a frequency differencebetween the ARFCNs in at least one neighbor cell.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 13, in which the at least one neighbor cell comprises a globalsystem for mobile (GSM) communications cell.
 15. The apparatus of claim12, in which the at least one processor is further configured to performthe IRAT measurements by measuring a received signal strength indication(RSSI) of each ARFCN sample.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, in which theat least one processor is further configured to perform the IRATmeasurements by detecting a frequency correction channel (FCCH) tone ofeach ARFCN sample.
 17. The apparatus of claim 12, in which the at leastone processor is further configured to perform the IRAT measurements byverifying synchronous channel (SCH) base station identity code (BSIC) ofeach ARFCN sample.
 18. The apparatus of claim 12, in which the widebandreceiver collects multiple global system for mobile (GSM) ARFCN sampleswithin one frequency band or across different frequency bands.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 12, in which the wideband receiver extends to collectmultiple RAT (radio access technology) samples within one frequency bandor across different frequency bands.
 20. A computer program product forwireless communication during an inter-radio access technology (IRAT)measurement, comprising: a computer-readable medium havingnon-transitory program code recorded thereon, the program codecomprising program code to collect multiple absolute radio frequencychannel numbers (ARFCN) samples in parallel using a wideband receiverduring a transmission gap; and program code to perform IRAT measurementsbased on the collected AFRCN samples.